The Lawyer Who Reads Tomorrow - Chapter 140

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 140

 

Lee Kang-seok.

 

Former chief prosecutor, current general director of A Foundation’s Legal Department.

 

“Haha.”

 

A laugh escaped me without realizing it.

 

Yoo Pil-chang looked anxious but seemed puzzled about why I was laughing.

 

Of course he would be. Lee Kang-seok, of all people.

 

It was a name I hadn’t heard in a really long time.

 

Actually, I didn’t even recognize him until I searched for that name and found his photos.

 

“Choi Yoon-ki…”

 

That bastard again.

 

Choi Yoon-ki.

 

Lee Kang-seok was Choi Yoon-ki’s junior.

 

How did I know? Well…

 

It was an unforgettable name.

 

* * *

 

[If you don’t come today]

 

[It’s really over, Wook-han.]

 

I had received such a text message.

 

The address that arrived afterward was a familiar place.

 

The Japanese restaurant that Choi Yoon-ki used to frequent.

 

After our relationship started to gradually fall apart, Choi Yoon-ki was establishing his position among the prosecutors.

 

Why would such a guy want me?

 

[This is really the last time.]

 

Choi Yoon-ki hadn’t sent such text messages for a while.

 

I had also been busy for months with no contact, just going between the court and house, with no time to care about friendship games and such.

 

So somehow it bothered me.

 

If this damn bastard is planning another stupid move.

 

I should at least try to stop him before we face each other as judge and defendant in court.

 

That was the thought I had when I arrived at this place.

 

But.

 

“Oh, you came?”

 

The bastard was already completely drunk, half-sprawled on the ground with his red face turned up.

 

The other people drinking with him were in the same state.

 

Was that one over there a lawyer?

 

I could see some familiar faces – training institute classmates and junior colleagues from other classes.

 

A sigh escaped me naturally.

 

This damn bastard again.

 

“What are you doing.”

 

I slowly pushed through them and approached Choi Yoon-ki.

 

I couldn’t hide the look of disgust in my eyes.

 

Choi Yoon-ki’s drunk hand grabbed my collar and the smell of alcohol hit me instantly.

 

Among the irrational people giggling and laughing, Choi Yoon-ki patted my shoulder roughly with his sharp hands.

 

“Hey, Wook-han.”

 

“What.”

 

“Do you remember? Huh? When I lent you money and did that for you?”

 

Laughter erupted from here and there.

 

The bastards I thought were completely wasted were holding their stomachs and laughing.

 

“Choi Yoon-ki.”

 

“Hey hey hey, you bastards. Look, it’s really true, right? Fuck, I raised this bastard, I, hic. Kick. I even bought him lecture cassette tapes to help him study.”

 

That story again.

 

The people sprawled out and reeking of alcohol giggled and each spat out their own commentary.

 

“Wow, fuck. Kim Wook-han succeeded.”

 

“Kim Wook-han, I thought he was born nobility from the start… Hey, man. No matter how~ proudly~ you hold your head up, you’re just someone that bastard Choi Yoon-ki raised, aren’t you?”

 

Other people’s evaluations don’t matter.

 

It wasn’t something to be ashamed of.

 

The fact that I was poor and had no family left after Mother passed away was something everyone who knew me from university was aware of.

 

Of course, after entering the court, there wasn’t really any occasion to mention it.

 

“Get a grip. You’re drunk.”

 

At my words, Choi Yoon-ki giggled and pushed my chest with his fist.

 

“Get a grip~ You’re drunk~ Oh my~ Our Kim Wook-han. Huh? Fuck, I fed you and gave you a place to sleep, and now our Wook-han’s gotten all high and mighty~”

 

He’s not in his right mind.

 

Ever since we grew apart, Choi Yoon-ki had always been like this.

 

It had gotten progressively worse, and he was no longer the Choi Yoon-ki of the past.

 

The Choi Yoon-ki that I and Ho-shin Senior remembered.

 

‘Wook-han. You might laugh at this.’

 

‘But someday, I want to stand with those in the lowest positions, those called the lowest people.’

 

‘So they can say, ah, this world is worth living in.’

 

‘I want to create a world where law and justice stand upright… Hey, are you really laughing?’

 

The one who used to talk about justice all night long with a drink as his companion was gone now.

 

Choi Yoon-ki staggered as he grabbed his soju glass and downed drink after drink.

 

I didn’t bother to hide the sigh that escaped as I spoke.

 

“I’m leaving.”

 

“Huh, hey- wait, you bastard. Hey! Lee Kang-seok, come over here, where did this guy go.”

 

There was no need to listen to someone who was already too drunk to think straight.

 

As I turned to leave, Choi Yoon-ki grabbed my leg and fell over.

 

It was a ridiculous sight.

 

But since everyone in that place was just like him, what was more surprising was that it didn’t look strange at all.

 

“Lee Kang-seok!”

 

That’s a name I’ve heard somewhere before.

 

While I was thinking for a moment, one of those who had been lying down staggered toward me.

 

“Judge Kim~ Wook~ han! Well, I never thought I’d get to see your face like this~”

 

Lee Kang-seok was also quite drunk.

 

He approached me with a bottle of sake, avoiding the humans sprawled here and there.

 

“Come on, have a drink~”

 

“I don’t drink.”

 

“Oh! You don’t drink? I didn’t know that! Hey! Bring some carbonated drink, carbonated drink, damn it!”

 

He muttered while kicking someone else’s back repeatedly with his foot.

 

Maybe it was a mistake to come here out of last-ditch sentiment.

 

No, it’s inevitable that it’s hard to find sanity among these idiots.

 

I turned my back, ignoring them.

 

“Hey!”

 

Choi Yoon-ki’s loud voice burst out from behind me.

 

“Kim Wook-han!”

 

The guy who had been drunk just moments ago quickly approached and blocked my path.

 

“Where are you going?”

 

“House.”

 

“Why, damn it. If you leave now, I won’t see you again? Huh? Fuck, are you going to ruin decades of friendship like this?”

 

“Come find me when you get your sanity back.”

 

“Hey!”

 

Lee Kang-seok, who had been holding sake behind us, also approached from the side.

 

“Oh oh- where is our judge going! I heard you don’t even come to friendly gatherings like this, right? Do you know how~ difficult it was for me to meet you through our Senior Yoon-ki? Right?”

 

Choi Yoon-ki glanced at Lee Kang-seok, then lowered his voice and whispered to me.

 

It was as if he was acting like he was sane.

 

If not that, then he had been acting like he wasn’t sane.

 

“…Help me save face.”

 

I didn’t have time to ask what he meant.

 

“I’ve helped you a lot all this time, you bastard.”

 

Only then did I realize.

 

Lee Kang-seok.

 

Was he the prosecutor assigned to my current case?

 

It felt like about ten calculators were rolling around in my coldly cooled head.

 

“Oh? It seems you remember me now. That’s right. I’m Lee Kang-seok, Your Honor. No, Senior!”

 

“Senior?”

 

“Hahaha. Yes. Senior! I’m exactly one year junior to you seniors. Right? From Hankook University! We fellow alumni should stick together and support each other like this, shouldn’t we~”

 

Quite a long time had passed since I entered the legal profession.

 

And yet, it was still like this.

 

I slowly turned my face to look at Choi Yoon-ki.

 

Friendship, yes. It was friendship.

 

At one time, I even thought of him as a benefactor.

 

But humans change.

 

Who could be certain that a changed person is the same as they were before?

 

The Choi Yoon-ki I knew was dead.

 

So this person before my eyes is not Choi Yoon-ki.

 

“Prosecutor Lee Kang-seok.”

 

“Wow! Thank you for remembering me. Actually, I’m handling this case and got to know Judge Kim Wook-han, and I’m so happy about it. Please understand this feeling, this grateful heart of mine~”

 

“Are you really grateful to me?”

 

Lee Kang-seok froze.

 

But it didn’t last long.

 

He put on a friendly smile across his entire face and forcibly handed me a drinking glass.

 

“I’m grateful! I’m here because I’m grateful. Ah, I’m saying this in case you misunderstand – this is really just for friendship? Really, I have absolutely no ulterior motives! I just wanted to meet you, Senior, so I came here like this-”

 

“No ulterior motives?”

 

Alcohol began to slowly fill the drinking glass.

 

Choi Yoon-ki now smiled contentedly and stepped back a few paces, settling himself on the cushion.

 

Stupid bastard, I heard he’s rarely in his right mind.

 

So the rumors were true.

 

“Yes! Ulterior motives? I have no ulterior motives at all! Just this respect I have for you seniors!”

 

His bullshit was quite lengthy.

 

The drinking glass filled to the brim gleamed transparently under the lights.

 

So this is the end.

 

Endings come to you so suddenly like that.

 

Both Choi Yoon-ki and I.

 

Neither of us had ever spoken aloud that this was the end.

 

But that’s how relationships are, I suppose.

 

I returned the drinking glass to Lee Kang-seok’s brightly smiling hand.

 

“…!”

 

“I’m handling Prosecutor Lee Kang-seok’s case, aren’t I?”

 

“…Senior, haha. Well, that case is really just work. This gathering, this is just private-”

 

“No. If this were private, you wouldn’t have come to me when the case got involved. Isn’t that right?”

 

A cold atmosphere settled over us.

 

Choi Yoon-ki’s expression had hardened as if he’d never been drunk and relaxed.

 

“Kim Wook-”

 

“Shut your mouth. Choi Yoon-ki.”

 

“Ha, how dare you-”

 

How dare.

 

Yes, that was the wall that separated Choi Yoon-ki and me.

 

Wasn’t I told I wasn’t born into the sacred bone class?

 

That was an accurate expression.

 

Choi Yoon-ki and I were not friends.

 

There was a wall.

 

He was sacred bone and I was not. So.

 

“Prosecutor Lee Kang-seok.”

 

“…Yes.”

 

“I will personally handle Prosecutor Lee Kang-seok’s case.”

 

I looked at Choi Yoon-ki and spoke word by word as if making an announcement.

 

“Without a single deviation from legal principles.”

 

“….”

 

“I will review it thoroughly, so please understand that.”

 

That day was the last.

 

* * *

 

「A certain judge drinks with prosecutor in charge before trial… Sparks controversy over trial fairness」

 

Ah, I remembered. Yes, that was the article.

 

Lee Kang-seok had handed me a drinking glass at that drinking session that day, then spread photos to the media that I didn’t even know when they were taken.

 

Thanks to the lighting and cleverly taken photos, pictures spread that made it look like I was receiving some kind of lobby.

 

‘I became Lee Na-yoon’s target after that day too.’

 

Come to think of it, isn’t that absurd?

 

Lee Na-yoon had stuck to me because I was branded with the image of a ‘corrupt judge.’

 

But now Lee Na-yoon is a card I hold on my side.

 

“Ah, I know you feel wronged. I know, but Prosecutor Lee Kang-seok was also excluded from this case.”

 

“He probably didn’t receive disciplinary action though.”

 

“That’s something for the prosecution to handle. Judge Kim, get your head straight. You don’t know how scary the world is. This place is a jungle now. A jungle. You hear? The court isn’t that easy.”

 

I had that conversation with the Court Chief too.

 

Thanks to recording everything that day, I avoided disciplinary action, but I wasn’t allowed to handle that case.

 

Lee Kang-seok was the same.

 

However, whether he had made a deal in advance with this in mind, that case ultimately went the way Lee Kang-seok wanted even though both Lee Kang-seok and I were excluded.

 

“Haha.”

 

But that bastard is here?

 

“…Lawyer Sung, are you alright?”

 

Yoo Pil-chang looked up at me with a worried tone.

 

Old Man, don’t worry. Anyone can see that he should be the one worrying about himself right now.

 

I snorted and looked at that email again.

 

“Lee Kang-seok.”

 

“…Yes, he’s a lawyer for A Foundation. I heard he’s a former chief prosecutor or something.”

 

Back then, it ended without me being able to properly face off with him.

 

It didn’t make sense for me as a judge to go up against a prosecutor either.

 

Lee Kang-seok is a strategist.

 

His actions have always been like that.

 

He was also a gambler who weighed gains and losses, betting everything on whichever side offered even the slightest advantage.

 

So, the fact that his response was this quick wasn’t a coincidence.

 

“I’ll soon be buried by the media as well.”

 

“…!”

 

Yoo Pil-chang bit his lips nervously with a bewildered expression.

 

“They specialize in framing narratives.”

 

“Th, then….”

 

“They’re probably digging into my personal information right now. Preparing strange articles using my past as material.”

 

“…Because of me…?”

 

Anyway, what an egotistical Old Man.

 

“Of course not.”

 

Yoo Pil-chang seemed relieved and started to pat his chest, then stopped.

 

“Then… why…?”

 

Why, you ask?

 

Because I’m the lawyer who barged in with the Police to save 404.

 

Anyway, it’s obvious how Lee Kang-seok will respond.

 

First, a public opinion war.

 

He’ll drag down the credibility of me and Yoo Pil-chang, who could be dangerous to A Foundation, to rock bottom.

 

Material can be created easily enough.

 

Anything can be blown out of proportion if you inflate it.

 

I looked at the slightly trembling Old Man and offered him fresh water.

 

“I told you I’d assign you a lawyer, didn’t I?”

 

“Y, yes, you did.”

 

“Absolutely do not die.”

 

I said to Yoo Pil-chang.

 

“If we endure, we win. But if you die.”

 

“….”

 

“Then there might be no way left to resolve the grievances of the other victims. Professor.”

 

Yoo Pil-chang took a sip of water. Even while doing so, he didn’t take his eyes off me.

 

“I am a sin, a sinner… No matter what, I too am like them…”

 

“Professor Yoo.”

 

He could pay for his sins.

 

However, the things that A Foundation had been trying to bury might also be buried along with him.

 

“Please promise me.”

 

Yoo Pil-chang hesitated.

 

I firmly grasped his hand that was resting on the table.

 

“That you won’t die.”

 

“….”

 

“No matter how difficult it gets, that you’ll endure.”

 

“….”

 

“That’s the path for the victims.”

 

Finally, Yoo Pil-chang nodded his head.

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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